The future is about reading for graduate and post graduate degrees, but with the increasing competition, are opportunities open to all? And when you are comfortable in a career, why is it necessary to go back to class? 

Annaliza Borg catches up with lifelong learning director Mario Azzopardi to learn more.

 

“Lifelong learning must be seen in the context that the island and Europe in general, need people to continue studying for life,” lifelong learning director Mario Azzopardi said. “Malta has obligations and pressure from EU institutions to respect in terms of increasing the number of graduates from tertiary and post graduate studies but even had we not been EU members, there is no alternative”.

Nonetheless, lifelong learning does not necessarily mean being a University student for life and Mr Azzopardi also referred to the importance of non-formal and informal learning.

During the course of our interview, talks were taking place in Malta with all EU countries on how to validate such education. Switzerland, Turkey and Finland participate in such talks and are very forward thinking on the subject. He pointed out that people learn a lot from the workplace. In fact, he asserts that his career in films made him a life-long learner because after watching films, he used to research about them.

On the film front he was accredited three times for the Oscars. He met and interviewed several actors, including Mel Gibson, Sharon Stone, Jack Nicholson, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough and Leonardo Di Caprio and would have loved to be a film analyst on a full-time basis.

He has also attended several other awards including the European Film Awards, the Berlin Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.

“You learn from everything you do in life even while reading newspapers or meeting people,” he explained. “We should not only look at certificates of formal education”.

This brings us on to another point – the maturity clause for University courses and even post graduate education. In fact, one may argue that the removal of the condition that one must have a first degree before applying for scholarships for Masters degrees can be slightly unfair on those who may already have a first degree as others are getting the same opportunity for funding. Yet Mr Azzopardi sees in a different light and notes that an individual who may have been a company manager for 10 years has more practical expertise when it comes to reading for a Masters degree in Business Administration, than a fresh University graduate.

Nevertheless, he is certain on the need for a culture change in the job market on this regard.

The National Commission for Further and Higher Education is working on introducing the concept of going beyond certificates. At the same time, we must find a balance and not go to extremes of for instance, validating language knowledge without the need for O-Level and A-Level certificates.

The system that will be established must be accepted by employers.

His dream is to introduce a profile card which includes all the individual’s validated education but first the yard stick to be introduced should be accepted by all stakeholders.

Such discussions started less than five years ago and have gained momentum. Mr Azzopardi believes we are on the right track in comparison with other countries and we are moving ahead according to times. The time of reading for one degree and not needing to take another class is surely over and in addition, people would not be employed at the same place for life any longer.

Lifelong guidance also ties in closely with the subject and is an aspect where increased focus must be given. This type of counselling is necessary for people going through a difficult phase in their worklife or who are unemployed.

Malta is trying to keep abreast with other countries since we must be able to adapt overnight, according to challenges. While our financial services, gaming and aviation industries are strong, they may not last and alternative industries would need to be created. This can only be addressed by lifelong learning, Mr Azzopardi states.

The government, together with the Directorate for Lifelong Learning have identified EU funds which were not used on other projects and introduced the Master It! Scholarship scheme, allowing students to read for Masters Degrees within one or two years.

Since the EU multiannual budget covered the year 2007 – 2013, funds allocated for that period need to be used however, the EU gives an additional two years so as to ensure that funds are not lost. As a result, the allocation of funds for post graduate degrees is significantly higher – by around €700,000 – than the amount allocated to Masters scholarships last year.

Master It! is a complimentary scheme to the MGSS Post Graduate scholarship scheme, both of which were recently announced.

In fact, Master It! applies for individuals who may already be in possession of a Masters provided that the first Masters was not obtained through a scholarship and it is in a different area of study.  Holders of Doctoral degree are not eligible, except those with a degree from the Faculty of Laws and Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. Eligibility criteria have been slightly relaxed.

There is no longer a distinction between honours and general degrees, and even people who do not hold an undergraduate degree may apply, as long as they find a university ready to accept them on the basis of their experience and other qualifications.

The MGSS-PG scheme is for Masters and Doctoral degrees which can take place in Malta or abroad over two years or more.

MGSS accepts applicants who start reading for their Masters or Doctoral degrees during this calendar year. Students reading for a Doctoral degree who have started their research before 1 January 2013 may also apply provided that by this year, they still have two academic years of studies.

The MGSS-PG scheme is highly competitive as while 117 applications for doctoral degrees were submitted last year, 25% were awarded funding. In addition, 23% of applicants for Masters degrees were awarded a scholarship. There were 148 individulas interested in receiving funding to read for Masters degrees.

Applications for both scholarships will be received by the Directorate for Lifelong Learning till 14 June and following that, applicants must submit their official acceptance letters by 13 September.

The directorate last year saw an increase of 15% in applications for the two scholarship schemes issued – STEPS (which was similar to Master It!) and MGSS. The €10 million in EU funds allocated for SSTEPS have been used up and the scheme cannot be extended.

Since increased pressure on the MGSS scheme is expected next year, there is the possibility for Master It! to be open for one year.

The government’s idea is to open such schemes for as many applicants as possible, eliminating certain conditions to give increased opportunities while finding balance.

Mr Azzopardi described as “very positive” the removal of the condition to have a first degree when applying for Master It! and notes this is in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy which states that the number of jobs requiring basic skills will soon be dwindling.

Meanwhile, individuals who already have a first Masters degree are eligible for scholarships as long as they have not received funding for this over the past seven years. To explain the matter and the need for increased specialisation, Mr Azzopardi brought an example with doctors who may have specialised in a particular field but get the opportunity to move on to a managerial role, for instance. This happens in many sectors including teaching.

The directorate awarded 2,100 scholarships over the past seven years and among these were 233 PhD degrees and 220 Masters degrees in research and innovation.

It must now launch an exercise of tracer studies to identify where the graduates are and the jobs they are doing. However, it is known that 5-7% of PhD graduates do not return to Malta and some start teaching at the same University where they carried out their research. The vast majority of graduates however return to the island, Mr Azzopardi points out.

Besides the directorate, the Employment and Training Corporation and the Malta College for Science and Technology also offer scholarships for degrees and diplomas.

Further to the MGSS and Master It! schemes, students interested in specialising in particular fields may apply under the Malta Arts Scholarships or the Malta Sports Scholarships (which opened last week) which have the aim of identifying students with particular talents in the arts or sports at a young age. A teenager is currently receiving post secondary education while specialising in dance abroad while another is specialising in tennis, on a concept of education very similar to the national sport school which opened last year.

So far no students are specialising in arts as from such a young age but this is possible in the near future.

“I strongly believe that when students study abroad, they may be sitting among those who may distinguish themselves in their field in future years,” Mr Azzopardi said. “Scholarships serve as opportunities for networking as well as indirect investment in the University of Malta”.

Many courses at the University are now possible thanks to investment including that as part of the ESF project to build the ICT block and also contribute to tuition fees. He explained how some of the equipment in use at University was purchased for individuals students reading for Masters and PhD degrees and continues to be used thereafter.

Identifying an area with need for better focus, Mr Azzopardi said that although people have a right to study and focus on the subjects that most interest them, more attention should be given to priority areas including aerospace, education, environment, crops and food biotechnology, health biotechnology, financial services, ICT, digital gaming, high value added manufacturing, social studies and humanities and tourism. Besides the added value such expertise has for the island, it gives the new graduates better employment opportunities.

He also pointed out that scholarships are not the only opportunities related to lifelong learning because individuals reading for tertiary education may apply for income tax cuts of up to €10,000 under legal notice 427 of 2010.